


Carry on my Wayward Son

by TheGriefPolice



Series: Just a Little Bit of Tony by my Side [3]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: ABDL, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Cuddling, Daddy!Steve, Diapers, Little!Tony, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Rocking chair, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, all cool though, bottles, daddy - Freeform, daddy!Phil, flufflepuff, little!Clint, little-big relationship, oop-sie, pull-ups, rockimg, someome wet their diaper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-07-23 12:53:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7464003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGriefPolice/pseuds/TheGriefPolice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony has crash landed once again, and Steve is there to catch him before he falls into a bad place. A weekend of little time is just what the doctor ordered and, after a few rocky turns, everything turns out awesome!</p><p>Play date with Clint and Phil!</p><p>"Carry on my Wayward Son" Kansas -- 1976</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was late when Tony woke at last. Or more, early, depending on how you looked at it. He sat up slightly, only then noticing Steve's hand over his torso. He pulled it off, setting the heavy limb back at Steve's side before getting up. He could already hear the coffee grinder going off and smiled, looking up for a split second before trudging off to the kitchen.

He pulled a coffee cup out of the cabinet and leaned against the counter as the kitchen filled with the smell of brewing coffee. The machine beeped and Tony swung around, grasping the handle in his left hand as he poured an ample a out of the dark substance into his cup.

He hummed, taking in the sweet sent and gulping down the steaming coffee. It was hot, burning his throat as it went down, but Tony didn't really care. He needed caffeine in his body. He took a seat at the table with one of his Stark Tablets and got to work filling through emails and responding to the ones he felt like.

A while later, after Tony had gotten up to refill his cup, Steve walked into the kitchen. "What are you doing up so early?" He asked, making a beeline for the coffee.

Tony shrugged, not really wanting to answer the question. Lying wasn't really his forte. Avoidance, however, _that_ he could do very well. He glance up at his boyfriend, the blonde currently in nothing more than boxers. "What about you?"

"I'm always up this early, and that wasn't an answer." Steve said, plopping down next to Tony and locking the Stark Tablet before his boyfriend had the chance to use that as an escape.

Tony let out a sigh and leaned over his coffee cup more, avoiding eye contact with the man. It was childish, yes, but Tony was teetering between head spaces anyway. Especially after the night he had.

He'd gone to bed late, the day seeming to never end as one thing after the other fell onto his plate to be done. He didn't even stay awake enough to cuddle in to Steve the way he always did. Then, for the whole three hours he was asleep, he was pelted with nightmare after nightmare. Afghanistan, New York, Coulson, Loki, and even his father made an appearance in a royal, "Fuck your sleep," nightmare.

Images flashed across his eyelids and he quickly snapped his eyes back open. Steve was looking at him with that concerned puppy face he always got whenever he saw Tony slipping more and more against his will.

"It was nothing." Tony finally said, shifting in his seat a little, unconsciously scooting away from the man's piercing blue eyes.

"It doesn't look like nothing." Steve moved closer to Tony, walking around the table until he came to his boyfriend's side and took the man's calloused and scared hands in his own. "Tony, baby, please tell me what's wrong."

And that was it. That one phrase enough to send him over the edge and make him little more than a balling toddler. He sank into Steve, wrapping his arms around the man and holding on for dear life. He was tired. More then he thought possible. His eyes wanted to close but his mind was running five-hundred miles a minute. The crushing stress was causing his eyes to blur and his stomach to do flips.

"Breath, baby. Breath." Steve said, hand gently running up and down the back of Tony's head, giving the boy a pattern to sync his breathing to.

Tony let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, tucking his face further into Steve's chest. His hand slipped into his mouth, forefinger curling around his nose as he breathed in and out, following Steve's words.

When Steve looked down at Tony's face once more, they boy was little more than a crying bag of cuddles. "Alright, baby boy. I think it's time for a bottle, huh? And some rocking and cuddling." He looked down to see Tony rocking his head no, eyes squeezed shut. "Yes. You need sleep, baby."

Tony let out a whine, but Steve ignored it and stood, supporting all of Tony's weight as he walked the boy back to a spare room on their floor. This was where they kept all of the things they needed when Tony was small: diapers, bottles, powder, toys, a crib and changing station, along with a few other things. He place Tony on the changing table and got to work undressing him, taking away anything that would make Tony feel big. Even his wrist watch was removed and sat in a basket.

Steve couldn't begin to count how many times he'd seen the arc reactor, the only thing keeping his boyfriend alive. But it still amazed him. The cure on the metal, the glow that it gave off, the difference between metal and flesh. But they came together so beautifully and it took away Steve's breath.

It didn't take long for Steve to dress the boy in a thicker-than-normal diaper and a footie with Captain America shields; Tony's favorite. Letting the boy have his thumb but grabbing a pacifier, he picked the boy up and cradled him as he walked back into the kitchen with a bottle, filling it with milk and warming it up for a few seconds before taking a spot on the large lazy-boy style chair to rock. Steve held the bottle up to Tony's lips, wiggling out his thumb and sliding the nipple in softly. 

"There we go, good boy. Some nice warm milk will help you, huh." He smiled as Tony's dark brown eyes looked him over. Steve just could never figure out how kids did that; staring with a look that could pull you apart and put you together at the same time.

Tony studied every inch of Steve's face as the rocking started, and soon, his eyes couldn't stay open any longer. He liked being an adult. He liked driving cars too fast and drinking and hanging with the team. And being Iron Man. He _really_ liked that. But this was something he also liked--being in Steve's arms and sapping his warmth as he gently moved the chair back and forth at just the right pace. 

His head was so fuzzy form all the stuff of the day before, he just wanted everything to be quite for a second. To be free of all the voices in his head yelling at him, not to mention the real ones that were even louder. Steve made them all go away. He always had. Even when Tony didn't really know Steve, and just knew Captain America. The poster he hung above his bead was usually the only thing that really calmed him down.

His blue eyes were simi-hidden behind the old-style mask and the determined look on the old World War Two poster, but he was still somehow calming. That may of had something to do with the fact that he was more propaganda than anything, and meant to calm people in a time of war. But it felt special to Tony after another round of Howard's bullshit.

And now, it was more than just a poster. And that was the nicest part of all.

Steve watched as Tony's eyes flittered for a little bit before finally settling closed. His breathing steadied and the blond could fell the boy relax more than ever. Steve enjoyed the moment for a second before deciding he should put Tony to bed and get ready for the rest of the day.

If Tony was slipping this hard, they would need time to ride it out until he could really be "big" again. The brunet would defiantly resist for a bit, but a weekend of little time may be just the right thing for them both.


	2. Chapter 2

The next time Tony woke up, it was to voices. A lot of them.

He sat up in bed, realizing where he was instantly. The room was a spare on their shared floor that they had decorated together with what Steve liked to call his "little things." 

The bars to the crib were pulled high, telling Tony that he needed to wait for Steve to come and get him. But Tony wasn't little, not right then. He could feel the need pushing at the back of his brain, telling him to give up for a little bit. But he couldn't do that; too many things needed to be done for that right now.

As he was going through the list in his head, Steve popped in with a big smile on his face. "Good morning."

Tony looked up, rubbing his eyes. He must have been littler than he thought, because he had to pull his thumb out of his mouth to do it. "Steve, I know where you're--"

"Nuh-uh." Steve said, stoping him before he could go on. "You need time to distress. Don't try and fight it anymore, okay. Please? For me?"

Tony could hardly fight against those words. Not to mention the fact that his little side was pushing past all his defenses. But he still didn't want to.

Phil knocked on the already open door, pulling Tony's eyes to the agent. He was currently dressed in a t shirt with light jeans hanging from his waist. He smiled over at Tony as he asked, "You wanna join us for lunch? Clint's not gonna wait much longer."

"We'll be right out." Steve smiled, reaching for Tony to pull him out of bed.

Tony wiggled the whole time, not wanting to be picked up. But Steve held strong, pulling the smaller man from the crib and getting him down the hall before he sat him down.

Tony glared at Steve, but didn't knock away the hand he held out, holding it tightly as they made way to the kitchen.

"Tony!" Clint smiled. He was siting on his knees in one of the wooden chairs at the table, leaning into the table with his elbows as he colored. "Wanna color with me?"

Tony looked at Clint suspiciously, but nodded his head and took a seat next to the dark haired boy. He didn't really feel like coloring, but he picked up a crayon and worked on the picture of Black Widow pushing a Hydra agent through a glass window.

A few minutes later, Phil called "crayons up," which meant "clean off the table, it's time to eat." So Clint gathered the wax sticks and put them back into the box before setting both the box and the book on the coffee table for later.

"Mac's up!" Steve smiled, setting two plastic bowls down in front of the boys before spinning around to grab two more.

"Juice, please, daddy!" Clint asked, picking up the spoon and filling it with cheese and noodles.

"Good manners, baby." Phil smiled, grabbing a sippy cup with Hunger Games written across it and filling it with apple juice.

"Do you want anything, Tony?" Steve asked before sitting down.

Tony shook his head no, even though some juice sounded really good. A plastic bowl was one thing, a sippy cup was a whole different subject.

Steve nodded as everyone took their seat at the table, digging into the food. After several minutes of silence, Phil spoke up.

"So, I was thinking, since it's such a nice day, why don't we go to the park?" He asked, more to Steve than the kids.

Steve thought for a second before raising an eyebrow. That would be the perfect thing to put Tony in the right head space. "That sounds really fun."

Clint nodded his approval, pounding the air and he exclaimed, "Yes! The park! We haven't gone in forever!"

Tony was more hesitant. The park did sound fun. It wasn't a average park, either. It was made to be bigger for Tony and Clint to run-amuck on. It was also in the middle of nowhere, so prying eyes wouldn't be able to see what they were doing.

"Then we could stay in the cabin for the weekend, just us four." Phil suggested.

Really, "cabin" was an understatement. By a lot. The house was set into a cliff in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by trees and streams. The house it's self was three levels with a helicopter landing pad (the only way to reach the house) and a few ATV take off spots.

Maybe it would be nice to go out there, Tony thought.

It wasn't until Steve's hand was in his, lightly pulling the brunet's hand out of his mouth, that Tony realize his thumb had, once again, found its way into his mouth.

"Let's try eating before we do that, okay." Steve said softly.

Tony nodded, picking up the spoon and pushing it into his mouth. It tasted really good, and it only occurred to him how hungry he really was when he started eating.

When the bowl was empty, Tony pushed it towards Steve. 

"You full, bud?" Steve asked as he got up.

"No!" Tony said, pointing to the pot still sitting on the stove. "Please?"

Steve smiled, "Oh, you want more. Sure, baby, give me a sec."

He got up to fill the bowl once more, surprised that Tony had asked. Thought, if he had to guess, he'd say Tony hadn't really eaten in a while, much as Steve tried to get him to.

"Hey, baby Tony!" Clint smiled from the other side of the table. "You wanna play cars?"

Phil smiled at his boy. Clint knew Tony had a hard time finding his space sometimes, but the boy always liked to help by playing with him and keeping his mind off other things. Even Steve had to admit that, since they found out about Phil and Clint, Tony wasn't so put off by his little side, embracing it more and more each time they played.

Tony looked up at Steve as he sat the bowl down, then back at Clint. He was already too far gone to come back now, so he gave in. 

"Yeah! Cars!" His feet kicked out lightly as he dug into the half full bowl of mac, finishing most of it before he pushed it away. "Play now."

Steve smiled. He knew Tony couldn't push it off for too long, and it seemed like he stopped caring after Clint's question. "Yeah, baby, you can go play."

Tony wiggled out of his chair, chasing after Clint into the living room. Really, he was toddling more than running, the diaper making it a little harder, but not stoping him.

"Good idea with the cabin. Getting away will be good for all of us." Steve said, getting up once more to clean up from lunch. 

"You should have seen Clint last night. I swear I've seen abused animals shake less than he was. That fight yesterday with those aliens really brought back some bad memories." Pill shook his head, trying to get the image of a sobbing, pee covered boy out of his mind.

"That bad?"

Phil let out a sigh and nodded his head. "Oh yeah."

"If you watch them, I can start packing. We'll be at the cabin in time for lunch." Steve suggested.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan." Phil got up and moved to the couch in the family room as Steve shuffled off to the nursery.

He pulled a bag out of the closet, filling it with diapers and wipes, then a few pairs of clothes. Next was Tony's teddy bear and a few blankets. The bag didn't look like it could hold any more, so he grabbed a different one before going up to Clint and Phil's room to back Clint's bag. To be honest, they all had clothes and the such at the cabin already, so everything they brought was just precautionary. But Steve liked to know they had enough of everything because you never know what could happen.

Once the two bags were packed, he made his way back into the living room where Clint and Tony sat in the middle of the floor with a plethora of toy cars. Phil was currently trying to work one out of Tony's mouth and replace it with a pacifier, but Tony didn't seem to be happy about it.

"Baby boy, you can put that in your mouth. It's icky." Phil coaxed.

Steve sat the bags down and walked behind Tony, quickly pulling the car out of his mouth. Phil replaced it immediately with a Caption America pacifier and Tony let out a whine.

"Sorry, baby. But cars don't go in your mouth." Steve kissed the top of Tony's head and turned to Phil. "I have everything parked. Why time is the 'copper going to be here?"

"Already on the roof and waiting for us." Phil smiled. "Clint, come on, it's time to go."

Clint looked up and whined. He didn't want to leave! He was having too much fun with his toy cars!

"None of that, now. Come on, we're going to the park, remember?" Phil helped Clint stand, covertly checking the boy's pull-up with his right hand. Dry.

Oh yeah, Clint thought. He held Phil's hand as they walked to the door, Steve carrying Tony and trailing behind.

They took the elevator to the roof, where a helicopter sat with a pilot checking systems. Steve ducked his head, more out of instinct than actual need, covering the top of Tony's head as he ducked into the cabin of the flying contraption. Phil followed with Clint's hand in his as the took the seats across from Steve and Tony. Phil slid the door closed and knocked hard on the door twice.

Tony let out a small scream as the rutters started up, creating a loud noise his little ears weren't used to at all. Steve came prepared, and pulled noise canceling headphone out, easing them onto Tony's head for the ride. When Tony took his hands away from his ears, he could hear the muffled sounds of an engine, more like purring with the headphones on, and looked up to Steve with a smile. Daddy always knew what to do.

He could see Clint had the same thing on his own head, his a deep purple with lines of black around it. Clint held up two thumbs and smiled, making Tony do the same.

The trip really wasn't that long, relatively, and they reached the cabin with plenty of time for the everyone to get settled. They waved goodbye to the pilot with instructions to pick them up the following night, and then walked into the house.

Steve was always blown away by the amount of money Tony had, more evident in the plethora of houses he owned. This one was all wood, from the floors to the counter tops and painted a warm orange. The furniture had wood ascents as well, tying the whole thing together. But it was perfect for a small amount of little time because, for as many hard surfaces as there where, it was all baby-safe. No sharp edges to run into like the tower, all of the sockets were well covered and the stairs were hardly used for anything more than a trip to the garage.

"Alright, boys," Phil started, heaving Clint's bag into the house and setting it in the living room. "Who's ready to go to the park?"

Clint cheered, running around the house with his arms out like a plane. He liked all of the room in the house that made it okay for him to run around a little more than normal. Tony followed with a smile on his face.

"What do you think about dinner being a picnic, huh. That would be fun." Phil smiled as the two boy;s faces lit up even more.

"Yes! Daddy, we have cookies on picnic?" Clint asked, eyes wide with hope. "And juice and Mac and goldfish and--"

"Hold up, bud. Not all of that but I'll see what I can do, okay?" Phil laughed, rustling the boy's hair lightly.

Clit cheered taking Tony's hand and pulling him around the living room. "We're gonna have a picnic, baby Tony! With lo'sa good stuffs!"

"I'll make the food and bring it down to you guys if you want to start killing off some of that energy." Phil said towards Steve with an amused smile.

"Sounds like a plan." Steve nodded, then clapped his hands, gaining the attention of both boys. "Come on , let's get to the park!"

Clint rushed over to the door, bouncing on his feet in anticipation as Steve scooped up Tony and they made way to the park.

It was only a small walk through the woods to where the clearing was, housing the larger version of your average children's park, with slides and swings and a sand pit. Clint ran right to the monkey bars, climbing the pole with ease and taking hi perch. It was his favorite spot on the whole play ground because it was high enough fo him to see things, but not too high so that daddy or uncle Steve would tell him to get down.

Steve, meanwhile, sat Tony up in the sand pit. The buckets and scoops were still lying about from last time and Tony immediately grabbed for a bright red bucket that would make the sand look like a castle when filled and turned over. When Tony seemed efficiently engrossed in his building, Steve made his way to Clint, reaching up to grab his feet playfully.

"Un'ca Steve! You can't see me! I'm visible!" Clint said with a slight wine.

"I think you mean invisible, bud." Steve laughed, but ceased his playful attack.

"That's what I said!" Clint smiled. "I gotta hide from the dragon!"

"Dragon!" Steve announced, looking over his shoulder. "What dragon?"

"The one trying to steal out picnic!" Clint laughed. "He's big and mean and hungry and he'll take it all if we don't stop him!"

"Well, we better not let that happen!" Steve exclaimed, reaching his hands out to catch Clint. The boy slid form his perch and into the blond's hands before his feet his the ground. "We gotta run!"

And so they did, around the slide, under the crossing bridge, through the swings, through the sandpit (taking care not to hurt Tony's castle) and up the stairs to go down the big slide. They yelled every-now-and-then through giggles, "faster!" "It's almost here!" "We's gots no food, mister dragon!" Tony watched, giggling away at his daddy running all around the park with no rhyme or reason with Clint.

"Daddy!" Tony laughed as they ran past once more. "No dragon!"

Steve turned around with an amazed look on his face. "Yes there is! Don't you see it! He's huuuuuge!" Steve reached his arms out in either direction to put emphasis on the word.

Tony laughed once more as Clint circled around, yelling, "He's gonna grab up baby Tony!"

"Oh no he's not! No one's gonna take my baby boy!" Steve declared, running back to the sand pit and picking Tony up before dashing once more to take cover under the walking bridge.

As they all ran around, Phil made his way to the playground, watching as the man and two kids ran around happily. He took a second to just enjoy the sight of Clint so carefree. That's the way it should always be, but adult life happened. and Phil knew better than anyone that things happened that no one could stop. So he'd savor these few moments, as rare and far between as they are.

He gave them a few more minutes to run before yelling, "Time for dinner!"

Clint's head shoot up at the sound of his daddy's voice and immediately took off for him, tackling him with a hug.

The rest of the night seemed to just fly by as the two men somehow managed to catch their littles and get them back to the house after dinner and a little more play time. They were both already yawning as their daddies's washed them in separate tubs. Droopy eyed, the boys made their way to the couch for a movie, neither making it even a quarter of the way through before they were out.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Steve was the first one up. He walked around the house, cleaning up where he could and starting the coffee maker. He opened the fridge to find it fully stocked--JARVIS's doing, most likely-- and pulled out a carton of eggs and the butter.

Phil walked into the kitchen as Steve was warming up the pan, the older man's hair pointing in every direction as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Morning," Steve smiled in his all-American way, pulling a mug out of the cabinet to his left and holding it out to Phil.

The man moaned a thank you, filling the mug quickly and taking a sip. "Man, that's good." 

Steve laughed, cracking a few of the eggs and throwing them into the pan. "What do you think we should do with the kids today?"

Phil thought for a second, taking another sip. "Not sure. I'm sure they'll give us some ideas once they're up, though."

As if on cue, Clint stumbled into the room rubbing at his eyes and yawning.

Phil placed his mug on the counter and wrapped the boy in a hug with a quick peck on the forehead. "Good morning, little bird."

"'Or'nin'." Clint said through another yawn, leaning into the hug.

"What's got you up so early, huh?" Phil said as the boy laid his head on his daddy's shoulder. Usually, Clint wouldn't be awake until eight-thirty to nine when Phil would wake him up. It had just turned seven-forty-six. 

"Baby Tony loud." Clint moaned, rubbing his face his Phil's shoulder.

Steve looked skeptical. He knew Tony could snore loudly at times, but he never did it when he was little.

"Oh really?" Phil smiled, picking up Clint's weight as he stood. The boy seemed ready to fall asleep on his feet.

Clint nodded his head, eyes closed once more in his daddy's arms. "He crying." 

Steve's eye brows furrowed as he wiped his hands clean on a towel giving Phil a silent, _watch the eggs_ , and walked out of the kitchen and towards the boy's shared room. He could hear small whimpers as he got closer, pushing open the door to see the boy wrapped in his blankets tightly with his face scrunched up like he was in pain.

Recognizing the sight of an ongoing nightmare, Steve lowered the bars to Tony's crib. He tried, as gently as he could, to unwrap Tony from the blankets and pull him close. The boy was whimpering the whole time, even as Steve gently bounced to wake him up. 

Tony's eyes popped open, his entire body suddenly stiff. He took in large, hard breaths until he noticed that the arms wrapped around him were Steve's. Tears started to fall down his face and he held tight to the man.

Steve rocked gently, whispering reassurances to the boy lightly as his heart slowed down. After several minutes of this, Steve asked, "You wanna talk about it, baby?"

Tony thought for a second, ready to shake his head no. He was really little right now, and no one would have blamed him for not saying anything. But he wanted Steve to make the bad things go away and he could only do that if Tony told him what it was. Or so the man had said to him.

"Dream that daddy and big Tony got into fight 'bout daddy friend and daddy left." Tony cried, the words bringing a new wave of tears. 

Steve let out a small sigh, rocking back and forth once more as he whispered, "Baby, I will never leave you. I promise with all my heart."

Tony nodded his head, taking a few more deep breaths.

"That's it, good boy. Deep breaths. Daddy's right here and Uncle Phil is right in the kitchen with Clint. We're at the cabin and were about to eat some breakfast, right? How do eggs sound?" Steve said softly, rubbing Tony's back.

Tony nodded, perking up a small amount at the idea of food. He sniffled, rubbing the back of his hand over his nose.

Steve smiled, hand feeling the boy's wet diaper against his arm. "Yeah, some breakfast will be really good, eh? But, we got to get you changed, don't we?"

Before Tony could respond, Steve was twisting around to walk to the changing table, laying the boy down gently. He went through the proses as quickly as possible, taking off the onesie while he was at it and dressing the boy in a blue shirt with a pair of overalls with "daddy's little engineer" written across the front pocket.

"There we go! All set!" Steve exclaimed, reaching out with one hand to tickle to boy's stomach.

Tony let out a few giggles, arms raised up as he was ready to be fed. Steve happily obliged, scooping the boy up and carrying him out of the room and into the kitchen.

"Baby Tony okay?" Clint asked, eyes wide as the pair walked into the room.

"He'll be just fine," Steve smiled. "Although a little hungry. What do you say I start some more eggs?"

"Can we have pancakes?" Clint asked, now more standing on his knees then sitting in the chair.

Steve thought for a second, looking over at Phil who seemed to enjoy the idea as well. "Yeah, I can defiantly do that. You wanna help?"

Clint nodded his head excitedly, jumping up from his chair and running around the counter to stand by Steve.

"Would you mind taking him?" Steve asked, knowing better than to just put Tony down when he was so clingy.

Tony let out a wine, he didn't want anyone but his daddy! He tucked his face into Steve's shoulder, trying to make himself as small as possible.

"Hey now, baby, I can't cook and hold you at the same time." Steve said, kissing the top of his head. "Don't you want pancakes?"

Oh man, that was a hard decision. He wanted pancakes, but he wanted daddy to hold him, too!

Before he could really choose, though, Phil was already wrapping an arm around him as Steve let go, officially handing the boy over. Phil walked away from the stove and sat Tony on the counter. Even with as thin as the boy was, he couldn't support the weight very long. The counter was perfect, though, because Phil could watch him and Tony was still close enough to Steve to not cry.

Steve and Clint got to work cracking eggs and mixing lots of stuff together. It was very funny to watch as they spilled flour everywhere and laughed about. Once Steve had to pour the mix into the pan, Clint had to step back. Not that the boy really minded. He got to help with all the fun stuff and now pancakes weren't all that far off!

Phil lifted Tony off the counter and sat him on the ground. He was kicking his feet and wiggling about after seeing Cling take off for the living room and he wanted to play now.

When both boys were out of ear shot, Phil finally asked the question that had been bugging him. "What was this one about?"

Tony was known for being pelted with nightmares pretty much any time he closed his eyes. Usually, they weren't so bad when he was little. So the question made sense.

"I think he's worried that, since Bucky is back, I'm going to run off with the brute instead of staying with him." Steve said sadly. He didn't know where Tony got these ideas sometimes.

Phil thought for a second, then said, "I wouldn't put too much thought into it. It probably has nothing to do with him not liking Bucky. Tony has abandonment issues, simple as that." Phil leaned forward, placing a hand on Steve's shoulder. "Just let him know how much you love him and he'll be okay."

Steve nodded, a thankful smile on his face. He flipped the pancakes over as they started to bubble and pulled out a plate to put the finished product on.

"Baby Tony! We can play cars!" Clint smiled, pulling out a large container packed to the brim with Hot Wheels. The boy was really hoping Tony would keep them out of his mouth, though. Spit covered cars were no fun to play with.

Tony clapped his hands and smiled, plopping down next to the bin and grabbing a fistful of cars (which ended up only being three), and sat them on the ground. He settled down on the floor, content with his cars as Clint pulled out many more.

But the time Phil walked into the open living room, Clint had almost all of the cars out of the bin and lined up as if the whole area had become a jam-packed highway. It was very interesting to the man as he tip-toes around the curves of line after line of cars to pick Tony up. "Come on, boys, breakfast is ready."

Clint cheered, standing up and running into the dining room, all without disturbing the cars.

Phil laughed, adjusting Tony on his hip as he made his way, quickly, into the kitchen. 

Tony saw Steve and reached out his hands, grunting to get his daddy's attention. He liked uncle Phil, but daddy was always his favorite. 

"Baby boy, I can't hold you right now, I have to plate breakfast." Steve said, holding a hot pan away from his body as he leaned in a pecked Tony in the forehead.

Tony grunted more, clearly displeased with the situation. He wanted daddy cuddles! 

"I'll get everything set out if you want to take him." Phil offered, already feeling the boy's weight on his back and having to adjust once more.

"You don't have to--"

"No, it's fine. You cooked. Here," Phil held Tony out, the boy instantly latching onto Steve with a pleased hum. "Now, go sit down."

Steve smiled and nodded, taking his baby boy to the table where Clint already sat, waiting excitedly.

It didn't take long for Phil to bring out two plastic plates with cut-up pancakes and two small forks, then bringing two sippy cups--one hard-nippled, the other soft and not too far off from a bottle-- handing it out appropriately. Then he walked out and was back in no time at all with two plates of pancakes and the bottle of syrup.

Steve tried to have Tony eat some of his food, but he really didn't seem all that interested. His mind was much more on playing with the syrup. He kept slapping his hand down and pulling it up, inspecting it carefully as he opened and closed his hand before repeating the whole process. 

Steve let out a sigh, giving up on trying to keep the boy moderately clean through breakfast.

“What would you two like to do today?” Phil asked as breakfast was coming to a close.

“Can we go swimming in the river!” Clint asked excitedly, eyes going from his daddy to Steve.

Steve and Phil shared a look, both asking the other if they thought it was a good idea.

“I’m not sure, bud.” Steve spoke up, eyes landing on Tony as he sucked away at his syrup covered hands. “I don’t think Tony’s up for swimming.”

“He can play in the sand then!” Clint said. He really did want to go swimming now. And it wouldn’t be any fun if it was just him and his daddy. Not that he didn’t like one-on-one time with him, but things like swimming were just more fun when lots of people where there.

“It’s not really sand.” Phil said. “Tony may not want to do that.”

Tony looked up from his hands at the sound of his name again. Clint smiled at him, saying, “Hey baby Tony! You wanna make sand castles today?”

Tony nodded his head, not really sure what he was agreeing to, but he liked playing with Clint and mostly just followed the older boy around.

“There! He said he wants to play!” Clint said, holding his hands out in front of him as he looked between Phil and Steve.

“I guess if he doesn’t mind,” Steve said breathily, looking over at the boy who was, once again, trying to suck away all the sugar on his fingers.

“Yes!” Clint cheered, throwing his hands into the air before he stood up, pushing his chair in. “I’m going to get ready!”

Phil laughed as Clint ran, clumsily, out of the dining room and through the living room until he was out of sight. “That boy…”

Steve chuckled as he pulled Tony from his high chair. “I better get him cleaned up then. I’ll be back to clean this up in a second.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. You cooked, I can clean.” Phil smiled, standing up and starting to collect the plates.

“You sure?” Steve asked, pulling Tony’s spit-covered hand away from his face.

“Yes, now go. I’m not sure how long Clint is going to wait.” Phil waved him off.

Steve nodded and made his way into Clint and Tony’s shared room. Clint was pulling off his pajama shirt as fast as he could, making Steve laugh as he took Tony to the changing table.

The boys didn’t need to share a room by any means. There were two unused rooms on the other side of the house. But those rooms weren’t close enough to their daddies and all parties involve agreed it might be a better idea to have the boy’s sandwiched between the older men. Clint and Tony’s door was right at the end of the hall, with Phil on their left and Steve on the right.

Steve made quick work of changing Tony out of his clothes and into a swimming diaper and swim trunks. The sharks swam in a stripe down his leg, matching the shirt Steve liked him to wear so he wouldn’t get sun burnt. When Steve lifted the ready-to-swim Tony off the table, Clint was just pulling his swim-shirt over his head.

“Ready?” Steve asked the older boy.

“Uh-huh!” Clint smiled, running out of the room to find Phil.

“What about you, baby boy? You ready to have some fun?” Steve cooed, bouncing Tony on his hip lightly.

Tony clapped his hands together and smiled, little Tony speak for, “Let’s go!”

Phil had filled the dishwasher and cleaned off the counters by the time Steve and Clint had walked back into the living room. 

“Daddy! Can we go now!” he asked, pulling on Phil’s shirt.

Phil ran a hand through the boy’s hair. “Yeah. Did you make sure to grab all of your swimming toys?”

“Yup! Uncle Steve has them!” Clint said, pointing to the large blue beach bag Steve had grabbed on his way out of the boy’s room.

“Alright then. Let me get my trunks on and we can head on down there.” Phil rustled Clint’s hair one last time before walking down the hall and into his room. Steve would need to do the same, but he could just bring his trunks along without actually putting them on. There was very little chance he would be in the water anyway.

Once Phil came back out, red trunks showing off his pale legs as he grabbed Clint’s hands, swinging it forward and back as they walked out of the house.

“You may wanna watch how much you’re in the sun with those legs.” Steve chuckled, steping over a large branch in the middle of the path. “They may bind someone.”

Clint laughed as Phil glared at Steve. “Really?”

Steve shrugged. “Just saying.”

The rest of the walk was narrated by Clint, who insisted on picking up each rock and inspecting it for gems. The influence of a video game, Phil guessed. When he thought it might be more than just a rock, he would hold it under his daddy’s nose until the man looked it over and told him it was not, in fact, a priceless artifact. This is no-way turned the boy away from doing it again and again all the way until they reached the river.

It was a wide span of water that flowed gently down the hills. It was fed by the waterfall close to the house, which meant it wasn’t too far and had a little clearing next to it. “Sand” really wasn’t the word for the fine rocks that covered the ground, but Tony didn’t seem to mind as he wiggled to be put down.

Steve obliged, setting the boy in a more shaded spot and pulling out the beach toys for him to play with. Clint was already in the water up to his waist, splashing as Phil who had taken off his shirt and laid it out on a log. Steve took the towels out of the bag, unfolding them and laying them in the sun.

Clint splashed at his daddy once more before ducking his head under the water. It was cold, but he was having too much fun to care as he kicked his feet and swam a few feet further into the middle. He came back up with a, “Yaaah!” flailing his hands every direction to splash water all around him. Phil laughed as the boy’s efforts didn’t do anything but get himself again.

“Alright, water ninja. Calm down and let’s see how you’re swimming is.” Phil said, wiping the drops off his face and taking a few steps back.

Clint sighed. “I know how to swim, daddy!”

Phil knew that was a lie. Sure, he could get from point a to point b in a pool and keep his head up for the most part, but he couldn’t do it fast and he couldn’t do it well. Growing up in the circus didn’t really give him the chance to learn how. But that’s what this was really about: giving the boys a second chance to have a little fun.

“Then show me how well you swim!” he said, taking a few more steps back and holding out his hands. “Come on!”

Clint’s face widened with a smile before he dove in head first and started moving his harms and kicking his legs. It was a sad excuse for swimming, but he was moving and that’s what he cared about.

Steve watched from the shore, Tony sitting across from him and laughing as Clint started splashing around.

“Clint’s silly, isn’t he?” Steve asked, poking at Tony stomach and making him giggle as he nodded his head. 

Tony dug his hand into the rock sand, taking a handful and releasing it over Steve’s foot. The man smiled as Tony did it a few more times, effectively burying most of Steve’s toes and working his way up. 

Steve watched as Tony pulled a shovel from the bag and started using that instead, finding it more effective. It was crazy how cute he could be when he was little. It always seemed like Tony was caught up in one project or another, and though he always made time for Steve, his mind was working on ten million different things all at once. That didn’t always leave room for Steve or even Tony’s own health.

Before they had gotten together, Tony would go days in his workshop with nothing to run on save coffee and thought. When Steve got wind of this after joining the team and moving into the Tower, he couldn’t believe it. No way on earth would a member of his team be that stupid with their life. So started the ritual of Steve bringing him food and forcing him to go to bed or at least take a nap at some point every day.

The age playing came after that, as a way to help Tony relax and take a load off. But, not-so-secretively, Steve loved everything about it. Tony had nothing on his mind but his daddy, and Steve was able to take care of Tony, making sure he ate enough and slept a decent amount and felt actually loved. It really was a two-way street, despite what anyone said about this on the internet.

Tony’s giggles brought Steve out of his head as Clint was running towards them.

“Uncle Steve! Help me!” Clint managed to yell through a serious laughter fit, nearly crashing into the blond as he took cover behind his back.

“Get back here, you rascal!” Phil laughed, chasing after him.

“Hey! Don’t use me as a cover!” Steve said, reaching behind his back and pulling Clint into his lap.

“Daddy’s gonna get me, uncle Steve!” Clint managed to squeak through giggles as Steve tickled him. 

“Oh yeah,” Steve asked, looking up as Tony laughed. “And why would that be?”

Clint shook his head and tried to wiggle out of Steve lap.

“Little runt splashed me!” Phil said, reaching for Clint as he slipped out of Steve’s lap and took off for the other end of the shore in a fit of giggles.

Tony followed them with his eyes, a smile on his face. Then he turned back to Steve, reaching with his arms in the universal “pick me up” gesture. Steve did as he was asked, pulling the boy into his lap and letting him settle there.

Most of the afternoon passed like this, Phil leaving for a short bit to make lunch and bring it back, but otherwise, they spent most of their time together. It was a lot of fun, too, watching as both kids ran around, Tony stumbling after his older cousin in an odd game of tag. Tony even put his feet in the water after Clint had run and jumped in to get away from him. Steve broke into a dead sprint across the shore and pulled Tony out, but the boy wasn’t screaming like he normally would have; he was laughing, entertained by Clint’s antics in the water.

It was only when Tony sat back in the shade, leaning against Steve with half lidded eyes that they started packing things up to head back. Even Clint, who didn’t normally take naps, was rubbing at his eyes.

“Come on, I think it’s time to head back.” Phil said, pushing his hand through Clint’s hair and making it stand on end.

“I don’ wanna.” Clint whined, fisting at his eye with one hand as the other grabbed onto Phil’s trunks.

“I know you’re having fun, but baby Tony needs a nap and you can play up at the house, too.” Phil cooed, knowing damn well the boy wouldn’t make it far enough to get to his room on his own.

“Ready?” Steve asked, Tony braced against his chest and half asleep. He draped one of the towels over Clint’s shoulders with a flip of his hand, impressed when it actually worked.

“No! I don’t wanna go!” Clint stomped his foot, a few pebbles flying into the air in his frustration.

Phil eyed him, saying, “Young man, that is not how we handle things.”

“Don’ care! Don’ wanna go!” Clint yelled, stomping once more. “It’s only cause’a baby Tony we goin’!”

Steve adjusted Tony in his arms as the boy started to move around, head coming off his daddy’s chest to see what was going on and why his name was being yelled.

“You will stop this now or you will be in time out.” Phil warned. That was really not how he wanted to end this wonderful day, but he would if he needed to.

“Noooo!” Clint flailed his arms around, falling to the ground in frustration. “Baby Tony ruins everything!”

Steve tried to cover Tony’s ears, but by the time his was able to get a hand over one side of his head to push his against his chest, the words had been yelled. Steve winced as he heard Tony sniffle.

“Clint Barton, you will stop right now and march your butt back to the house.” Phil said in a stern tone, one hand pointing towards the path that led back to the cabin. “And you will be in time out the moment we get there and then you will apologize to Tony.”

Clint hadn’t meant to make his daddy mad, but now the man’s face was showing he really had no tolerance for his fits and it scared the boy a small amount. Tony was crying when he looked over to uncle Steve for help, and after he realized he would find none, he sunk his head as tears fell and he walked along the dirt path.

Steve sighed as Tony kept up the crying when they got back, a mix of tiredness and insult somehow giving him the lungs of a bag-pipe player.

To be honest, Tony didn’t know how to stop crying anymore. He was tired and uncomfortable and Clint hated him now and he just couldn’t take it all. He really liked Clint, he always played with Tony, even when he was really little and couldn’t play with most of the older boy’s toys. Clint would play blocks and sneak him candy and cookies that Tony couldn’t reach. He’d lose all of that, now.

Daddy’s rocking was making him even more tired, but he was still kind of cold and his diaper was defiantly wet, so sleeping was not an option.

Steve let out a sigh as Tony’s cries picked up a few decimals when he was put down. Steve had to change the boy, but he wasn’t sure it losing his hearing was worth it. He quickly tugged off Tony’s trunks and swim shirt, leaving him in nothing but a soggy diaper until that, too, came off and was replaced quickly with a fresh one. Steve redressed the boy in a simple onesie, vetoing pants since Tony was just going to be sleeping and snapped the buttons between his legs. It may have just been Steve, but the crying seemed to go down the second the last button was in place.

He pushed a pacifier between the boy’s lips, then picked him back up, rocking him back and forth as he walked around in circles. In minutes, the boy was sound asleep against his shoulder. This was the best part to Steve, when Tony was asleep, his warm form pressed against his daddy. He was just so peaceful to have him close and safe, the way he should always be. But being an Avenger rarely allowed for that.

The peacefulness was disturbed as Phil walked into the room, Clint leaning against him and out cold. “I’m sorry about what he said.”

Steve smiled and shook his head. “He was just tried; I don’t think he meant it. Tony’s the one who’s gonna need that explained to him.” And it was true. Getting Tony to honestly believe that a person liked him took months of convincing. Getting him to think that someone didn’t like him, however, that only took a handful of words or a look and he was convinced for the rest of his life.

“Which is what he will be doing once he wakes up.” Phil said sternly, even though there was no way Clint heard him. He pulled the covers back on the boy’s bed and sat him down.

“Speaking of which, what happened to time out?” Steve was not judging Phil’s parenting skills at all. Teasing, however, that was something he had to do.

“He was in it.” Phil pulled the covers over Clint and tucked him in. “He was sitting on the floor in the corner crying one second, and then I look over and he’s slumped against the wall and out cold.”

Steve laughed, shaking his head at the imagery of Clint’s face squashed up against the wall. “Guess that explains the additude.”

Phil’s eyes went wide for a second, a silent, “No kidding.”

“What do you say to some unhealthy snacks and Netflix until these guys wake up?” Steve offered.

“Sounds like a great way to kill some time.” Phil smiled. “I’ll grab the snacks; you turn on something brain numbing.”

“The Real Housewives of Orange County it is.” Steve turned to place Tony in his crib, dodging as a stuffed animal was thrown at him.

“I said brain numbing, not brain killing.” Phil said, stepping out of the room and down the hall.

It was two hours later after a few episodes of a crime show that the sound of a waking child could be heard through the baby monitor. Phil stood, dusting the remints of Cheetos off his shirt with a smile at Steve. “I believe the monsters are awake. Time to sell our soul to the devil in hopes it’ll keep them calm.”

Steve laughed, knowing Phil didn’t mean a damn word. “I thought we did that last week?”

Phil looked up as if in thought. “No, we sold our organs last week. Remember, for help on that mission that landed in and ice cream factory and Clint nearly broke down in tears when he found out his favorite ice cream was a Hydra cover?”

“Oh yeah~” Steve smiled, standing up and following Phil into the boy’s room.

Clint was sitting on the side of his bed, rubbing at his eyes and looked up as Phil walked in. “Daddy,” he said, reaching out for the older man.

Phil complied, both to get out of Steve’s way and because Clint was just too cute right after he woke up.

Steve walked over to Tony’s crib, rubbing the boy’s back lightly as he stirred. He was kind of awake, but not enough to show it. He whined a small noise when Steve scooped him up, curling into the man.

“Hey Steve,” Phil called, making the blond look up. “It’s getting time for the copter to be here.”

Steve sighed. He knew it was close to that time, but he had hoped for a little more time with little Tony.

“I don’ wanna be big ‘gain.” Clint whined into Phil’s shirt.

“You don’t have to be just yet.” Phil smiled into Clint hair. “But the helicopter is going to be here soon and we have to get ready to head back to the Tower.”

“What’re we gonna do when we get back?” Clint looked up through long lashes to see the man as he thought of an answer.

“I’m not sure.” He finally said.

“Well, I was thinking we could eat a dinner of steamed spinach and go straight to bed.” Steve smiled.

Clint’s face twisted in disgust. “Can we not eat with uncle Steve, daddy? I wanna eat good food!”

Steve laughed, pulling Tony more towards consciousness. “I’m just messing with you, kiddo.”

Clint narrowed his eyes at the blond before turning his head back to Phil. 

It wasn’t too hard to get ready to leave, each man re-packing their suitcases as Tony and Clint cleaned up their toy cars and put them back in their room. The house looked like nothing had changed in the past few days.

The sound of blades cutting through air was the only thing that the boys needed to be told to be on their best behavior. They liked being little, but it wouldn’t have been so fun if everyone found out from one slack-mouthed pilot.

Their return to the Tower was quiet, JARVIS reporting that Thor was back in Asguard, Banner was down in his lab with a new experiment, and Natasha was currently on a mission. They started counting their lucky stars that no one was around to ask questions because both Clint and Tony defiantly had wet paddings. Phil blamed himself for not asking Clint if he had to go before they left, but happy he’d remembered to have him put a pull-up.

The rest of the night was relatively peaceful, Tony and Clint playing themselves to exhaustion. The only reason Phil had gone to check on them was because they had gotten quiet suddenly and the old “silence is golden unless you have a child; then silence is very, very suspicious,” was a very true statement. But what he walked in on was not two little boys getting into something they shouldn’t so much as a dog pile of kids.

Tony’s head was resting on Clint’s stomach, bobbing as the older boy breathed. Clint held one of Tony’s hands close to his chest like he did with stuffed animals. It was pretty much the cutest thing wither man had ever seen in the whole of their lives.

“Better get them to bed,” Steve smiled, trying to gently pry the boys apart.

Phil picked Clint up, resting him on his hip. “It’s been an eventful weekend. It was probably a good thing, though. Sometimes the whole ‘couple hours here and there’ thing just isn’t enough, you know?”

Steve nodded his head, defiantly understanding that. “We should do it more often. Get away for a weekend. It would be fun.”

“Yeah, defiantly.” Phil said. He adjusted Clint on his hip and waved. “We’re going to head back. See you around.”

Steve nodded, rocking and waving as Phil and Clint walked into the elevator and went back to their room.


End file.
